More Fatherhood

I related the story earlier about Jim Cornwell and how he handled people who wanted to have their name kept out of the paper. In 1956, I got my first taste of that problem.

A high school boy from Pilger (the only other town in Stanton County) wrote me a letter explaining that he had been picked up and understood he could pay for having his name kept out of the paper. I wrote him a scathing letter telling him he was assuming dishonesty on my part, if such a thing was possible.

I wanted to emphasize how irate I was at his assumption. But then I tried to explain why we did not have such a policy. I told him (I still have a copy of the letter) that all court actions are open to the public and his indiscretion would become known anyway.

In addition, that type of action usually fosters rumors. And rumors can be much worse than any printed, factual story. I also told him about my own experience of being fined in Stanton and how that story was published.

He wrote back and apologized “for making me mad.” He said he had done it because he was afraid of what his girl friend’s parents would do if they found out he had been speeding. He added that it would never happen again, particularly because he didn’t plan to get stopped.

Dr. H.S. Tennant was the only physician in town and despite the fact we had two local pharmacies, he dispensed all his own prescription drugs. He was also the mayor and had held office a good many years so things got done without much argument from the council or townspeople.

Janice was pregnant again in 1957, but we lost that child (named Douglas) at birth. Dr. Tennant suggested we have another baby as soon as possible, as a means of closure, so when Kay Lynn came along August 13, 1958, it was the third pregnancy in three years. Newspaper friends at press conventions we saw once a year gave Janice a hard time and kept explaining to her what caused these things.

Kay was also born at Our Lady of Lourdes hospital in Norfolk. She arrived at 7:51 p.m. on a Wednesday and weighed eight pounds and one ounce. Janice’s parents, sister Phyllis, and her family happened to be in Stanton and supervised the birth, according to my column, “Loose Ends.” We went to press on Wednesday nights so the paper could be in the mail for the next day. Although my column didn’t mention it, I probably was still at work when Janice produced our new child. Kay was due on August 4 so I probably didn't get exited this late in the process.

Janice tells me I got to the hospital in time to see her being pushed down the hall and following instructions to “pant.” Lamaze (the current vogue for child birth where the father is involved) was not common so I didn’t have a clue as to what was going on and came close to panic until I was told she was okay.